Smoke BombsHistory

 smoke bombs are believed to be first invented by Robertie Glandien

however it is unclear when this actually was
 noticed that he could hear ducks over a mist covered lake but couldn't see
them, saw that this could be a helpful military weapon
 first one made by compacting flour into a loosly woven cloth
 in 1848 Robert Yale developed the first smoke bomb for comercial use, as a
Chinese-style firework
 his rudementary smoke bomb is still used by the military today.

Purpose

 Military and Law enforcement and training

 Disaster, war and fire imitations
 Airsoft and Paintball tournaments
 Personal entertainment

Making a smoke bomb

There are several different ways to make a smoke bomb but the most common
method uses potassium nitrate (oxidizer), sugar (fuel) and baking soda(reducing
reagent).
The pottasium nitrate and sugar react in an explosive reaction when lit. This
reaction is moderated by the baking soda so that the smoke bomb creates smoke
for a longer period of time rather then just burning out. During the combustion of
the smoke bomb, the sugar will be oxidized to carbon dioxide and water. The
nitrogen in the potassium nitrate will be reduced to nitrogen gas. The potassium
will end up as potassium carbonate (the carbon coming from the CO2 from the
sugar).
The chemical equation for this reaction is:
8 C12H22O11 + 18 KNO3 --> 87 C + 88 H2O + 18 KNO2 + 9CO2
To make a smoke bomb you heat the potassium nitrate and sugar until they
carmalize, then you add the baking soda causing the mixture to expand, once it has
deflated you add the dye. The dye must be an organic dye (C-O bonds) or else it
will not burn. However because the potassium nitrate and the sugar burn so hot the
dye is vaporized causing only a very minimal amount of colour to be produced.
I found that the most successful ratio is 6 parts potassium nitrate to 4 parts sugar to
1 part baking soda and 6 parts dye.

Failures
Trial 1- too much baking soda, very slow
Trial 2- not enough baking soda to moderate the reaction
Commercial Smoke Bombs

 Commercial smoke bombs are made using many of the same chemicals as
fireworks
 Potassium Nitrate still used as the oxidizer
 Organic die is added to the smoke to avoid it being vaporized